I Needed You
by gideons-inamorata
Summary: I waited for you today, but you didn't show. JS oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own the ideas, characters, settings, or (I'm pretty sure) the plot of this story. People with much more talent than me have used them all before; I'm just borrowing them to play with and learn from. Also, I do not own the Barlow Girl song that I used to make the title and summary of this piece.

I Needed You

Jareth paced slowly through the broken ballroom and stared into a crystal, reliving the past thirteen hours. His boots crunched over the broken glass, permeating the room with the harsh sound. He did not notice; the crystal had claimed his thoughts. What he saw there – the countless viewings of the girl's victory, hearing over and over again _the words_ – ripped into him anew every time he replayed it, and still he could not look away.

He had ruined it. He had overestimated her maturity, and he had ruined it completely. She was, apparently, too young to understand what he'd offered, to understand that he wasn't a threat. And she was young – so young that he couldn't have kept her even if she'd agreed. Still, he would have waited for her, had she given him a chance. He heard the words again from the crystal and sighed. She would not give him a chance; he had simply been her villain. Yes, he had taken the boy, but it had been the only way to bring her to him. He had searched every tome he had, and there had been no other way.

Besides, she had asked it of him.

* * *

Hoggle, Didymus, and company had just left when Sarah began to clean. She began to pick up the thousands of little pieces of confetti, and her thoughts began to wander.

She had been on an adventure. A real one, with magical creatures and enchanted peaches, with fairytale kings. But it was over now. She smirked a little as she crawled over the carpeted floor, picking up more of the shredded paper. Maybe not quite. She'd still have her friends – Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus. She hadn't lost it completely. After all, they'd just been there reveling in her victory with her. Everyone had, in fact. Everyone except _him_.

Sarah kneeled back onto her heels, lost in thought. She knew that she didn't hate him; he'd only been doing what he was supposed to. He'd only done it that way because _that was how it was done_. That had certainly been her reason, anyway. She thought back to the ballroom, to the dance that they had shared. Some part of her knew it was a trick of sorts, but there was another part – a louder part – that told her that maybe he had wanted her as much as she had him. That maybe the feelings flooding through her during their dance weren't as contrived as she would like to think.

She glanced over to the figurine on her vanity, the miniature Goblin King. In that moment she knew that she would not be content, even with her friends. She stood up and walked to the vanity. She sat in the chair, and her fingers toyed idly with the figurine's hair. She had said she needed _all _of them; she hadn't lied. And still he hadn't come. She'd invited him and he had willingly stayed away. She didn't understand. She closed her eyes and was flooded with images of herself leaving him – in the ballroom, in the Escher room, and always with the same broken expression on his face.

Well, she thought, maybe she did understand. But what she understood was painful, and she refused to accept it. He was angry and hurt, fine. But he would not – he could not – just turn his back on her. Not when she knew he shared her feelings. She fought tears as she began to think of a plan. He hadn't come when she'd invited everyone, so maybe she would just have to be a little more specific. She forced a strength into her voice that she didn't truly have, and spoke:

"I needed you too, Jareth."

A moment passed uneventfully, the moment she had hoped might bring him to her, and she began to weep uncontrollably. And so she was in-between sobs when she heard the soft rustle of a cape. Quickly, she wiped her eyes and turned to face him. He leaned over on the wall, looking to her to be thoroughly bored and rolling two crystals between his fingers. Sarah, despite her previous admission, was terrified. Not for the sake of her safety, or even Toby's -- she feared his reaction to her words.

* * *

Jareth had been trying to put the girl at ease, to not frighten her with the intensitiy of his emotions.Even still, she stared at him from across the room like a scared rabbit. He sensed the anxiety pouring off the girl in waves and almost turned back. Perhaps it was too soon. It was entirely possible that her fear would override her other emotions here, just as it had in the Escher room. Still, he knew he couldn't leave. Not now, not when there was a chance that things could be different – that things could be good. After all, she had called to him, said she _needed_ him. He gathered what little composure he could and spoke.

"I told you once that what's said is said. Now tell me: did you mean it, Sarah?" as he asked, his normally polished voice quavered with both hopes and fears that he couldn't quite hide.

* * *

For a moment, the world was still. She barely breathed as she searched his eyes for truths he would never freely tell her. Suddenly, her own eyes lit up a little, and she began to stand. Slowly, she began the journey across the room – the journey to him. She placed her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to see his reaction.

She felt it before she heard it. His sigh heaved itself from deep inside his chest out through his lips. Softly, he whispered, "well, why didn't you say so?"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hi everyone, I'm gideons-inamorata. This is my first fanfic and I started out trying to keep them somewhat in character, but I'm thinking I failed pretty miserably. That's what first times are for, though, so I'm not terribly distressed over it. Anyhow, if you guys could review this and let me know what you think, it would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, do you feel that there is a need for more description? Less? What particular parts of the piece did you like? Dislike? Also (as if you couldn't tell), I thoroughly enjoy commas (they're my favorite!), so if I've got too many of them please let me know.

Anyway, thanks for reading this even if you don't review. I understand time constraints (and/or shyness) may prevent you from doing so.


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